Christine Altman

strength to weight ratio

I really enjoy making music, and when I had children, I encouraged them to play from an early age. I strewed my house with instruments of every ilk, and placed little working miniatures of my favorites in their hands by age two. Then I noticed some troubling changes in their skeletal alignment. Of course, by the time I realized I was negatively influencing their physical development, they'd both realized they really like music.

Oops.

I’d never have thought that playing an instrument for fun could be anything but beneficial, yet progressive changes in skeletal alignment told a different story.

My Quest for Whole Body Alignment began as a way to be a role model of health for my 3-year-olds (there are two of them). Since my alignment was way less than perfect, and since little kids emulate adults, I figured I better work hard to change my habits so as not to negatively influence their already perfect form.

Yet, as my alignment has improved over the last two years, theirs has declined. For better or worse, I'm not their only influence. Something as innocent as coloring has cramped their fingers, while just a few hours of sitting a day (at meals and during car rides) has shortened their psoas, hamstrings and calf muscles. But the one that REALLY burns me up, is that from September to December of 2011, around the time they turned 4, their foot position while standing and walking changed. They went from standing and walking with feet pelvis width apart and having strong lateral hip muscles, to standing and walking with feet together and having weak lateral hip muscles. This change coincided with an awareness of girl culture, a desire to wear dresses and an identification with princesses... along with sitting and looking at them in books and on TV.

If you are a Girlie Girl your tootsies touch to show just how dainty your are.